Former Kennedy Center chair buys dismantled ‘Blue’ statue

The former Kennedy Center chair who was ousted by President Trump last year has purchased the “Blue” sculpture that was removed from the center’s grounds last week.

David Rubenstein, the former long-term board chair who was fired by Trump and, alongside many of his colleagues, replaced with the president’s allies, bought the 24-foot aluminum sculpture for more than $2 million, according to The New York Times , which first reported the sale.

The towering sculpture will be displayed in the National Gallery of Art’s Sculpture Garden, where Rubenstein serves as chair of the board of trustees, according to The Washington Post , which also reported the buy. It was purchased from a foundation dedicated to the late artist who created the sculpture, Joel Shapiro.

“Blue,” which depicts an abstract human figure “poised in mid-kick,” had stood outside the Kennedy Center’s REACH expansion along its $250 million Video Wall, which opened in 2019.

The Kennedy Center ordered the sculpture’s removal last week without notice, prompting the National Park Service to temporarily close part of Rock Creek Parkway while crews dismantled the massive piece.

The center said at the time the Joel Shapiro and Ellen Phelan Foundation would determine where the sculpture would go next.

The sculpture was subsequently returned to the foundation, which is run by Shapiro’s daughter, Ivy Shapiro, before Rubenstein purchased it. It is not yet clear when the piece will be installed at the National Gallery.

Rubenstein, a billionaire philanthropist, helped fund the $250 million REACH expansion where “Blue” was displayed.

The sculpture’s removal came amid a series of changes at the Kennedy Center under its new leadership. The board voted to close the center’s main building for two years to undergo renovations, while efforts to add Trump’s name to the building remain tied up in court.

Shapiro, who died in 2025, described the sculpture as a “creation of possibility,” according to the center’s website . Once installed at the National Gallery, “Blue” will join another Shapiro sculpture, his 1998 “Untitled,” already on display in the Sculpture Garden.